Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
She bristles, her facade of perfection trembling as her mouth presses into a flat line. “We are Mardraggons. We stand together.”
“Not this time,” I growl, my resolve as solid as the gray marble floor I stand on. “Not after what he did.”
“Your father is innocent. His attorney said all they have is circumstantial evidence. It’s why he was granted bail.”
I grimace at the reminder he’s getting out of jail and will, in fact, be arriving here within the hour. It’s why I’m not delaying my exit. The judge was moved by dad’s attorney enough to grant bail for a million dollars, forfeiture of his passport, and house arrest outside of work hours until his trial.
“This is all your fault,” she hisses as she takes a step toward me, her gray eyes chilly with blame. “He wouldn’t be in this predicament had you kept your mouth shut.”
I’ve not had this out yet with my mom and it takes hardly anything at all for me to lose my shit. I glare at her, my voice dripping with scorn. “He tried to kill Sylvie. Your own flesh and blood. Alaine’s daughter. How can you stand by his side?”
“He did not,” she asserts, her voice sharp as she sniffs disdainfully. Her chin lifts, a clear gesture of defiance and dismissal. Her eyes, cold and calculating, lock onto me. “And we cannot afford to have this scandal hanging over us. The future of our company depends on these charges going away. So, we need to rally—”
I erupt with laughter, my head tilting as genuine but dark amusement overtakes me. I fix my gaze on hers, unblinking and piercing. “Oh, I see what’s really going on here. You’re afraid of all this going away. Your cushy lifestyle being swept out from under you.”
It’s a legitimate worry to have and she snaps her mouth shut because she knows I’m right. Rosemund does not love Lionel, nor does he love her. But she does love this lifestyle and he does love having a woman who will do his bidding no matter what.
I’m not about to let this company falter. I’ve called an emergency meeting of the board of directors and I’ve got plans of my own that will ensure the Mardraggon empire will continue to flourish. I don’t share that with her though.
Bending over, I grab the duffel and pivot away from my mother. As I swing open the left side of the double doors, her voice cuts through. “Where are you going?”
“Far away from here,” I mutter and step out onto the flat portico that’s as austere as the rest of the house. All gray concrete and boxwood bushes trimmed with such precision, you could cut yourself on a corner. I always appreciated the clean lines and lack of frills but again… it all somehow seems wrong now and I’m not sure why.
I only know I’ve got to get the fuck out of here.
I leave Rosemund watching me with condemnation as I stalk toward the sleek red Ferrari SF90 Spider. Seven hundred and sixty-nine horsepower that I often take advantage of on Kentucky’s winding back roads and I didn’t blink an eye at the $580,000 price tag.
I toss the duffel in the passenger seat, rev the engine and peel out of the driveway, hoping the speed by which I exit is further proof to my mother that I can’t get away fast enough.
Leaving all the poison behind.
It’s guilt you’re leaving behind, Gabe.
That thought comes unbidden and I push it away. I will not feel guilty about what I did to my father. He brought that upon himself.
But what if he didn’t give her penicillin? What if Sylvie really has a heart condition or some other medical unknown that caused her to nearly die almost a week ago? The doctors didn’t test her for penicillin poisoning at first, and the only proof the police have is the prescription pad I found in my father’s office that had the faint imprint of what looked to be a prescription written for penicillin, but even that is dubious.
On the other hand, the police told me that it’s more than just finding the prescription pad in his office. Lionel knew she had an allergy to the drug and it was damning that he would inherit the winery if she died. Couple that with the fact the prescription was written just three days before Sylvie came to stay the night and it was filled at a local pharmacy, Lionel was arrested because the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming.
Still… it was just circumstantial. No one saw him dose her.
But you know he did it, my subconscience pokes at me.
I pound on the steering wheel in frustration. I can’t let these doubts surface. What’s done is done and I have to trust that justice will prevail. If my father is innocent, then the truth will out. That’s all I can hope for.